A technique has been known in which the reception intensity of radio waves sent out from a beacon is measured by a portable terminal, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, and presence (a visit) of a user of the portable terminal within (to) a specific area is sensed when the measured reception intensity exceeds a threshold.
A service is known which, if a visit of a user of a portable terminal is sensed, executes an application corresponding to an area where the visit is sensed. For example, International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2007/058301, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-39688, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-199431, and the like are disclosed as related art.
The above-described conventional technique, however, may cause, for example, a case where a user of a portable terminal within a specific area is erroneously sensed not being within the area.
The reception intensity of radio waves received by the portable terminal varies due to various factors, such as movement of the user of the portable terminal into the shadows, or fluctuations in radio waves sent out from a beacon. For this reason, even though the user of the portable terminal is within the area, the reception intensity may drop to not more than a threshold momentarily, and the user may be erroneously sensed not being within the area.
As a result, execution of an application may end in spite of the presence of the user of the portable terminal within the specific area. From the foregoing, it is desirable to improve the quality of an application service using a beacon.